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THE WEEKLY TELEGRAPH AND MESSENGER, FKIDAX APRIL 25, 1584.
CHILDREN’S EYES.
Short-Slfchtedneca Caused by Over-Ap
plication to Study by Young'Chlld-
ren and Badly Constructed
School Buildings.
Gcorpia Med l*
Prom the proceedings of the Gcorgi
cal Association. Macon, April 16, 1584.
By Dr. R. J. Nunn:
“Resolved, That In view of the very great
practical importances of the President's ad*
dress to the public generally, it he published
In the secular press of the State."
DR. CALHOUNS ADDRESS.
Gentlemen of the Medical Association of
Georgia—Ladies and Gentlemen: It will
perhaps surprise some* of you that I have
departed from the usual order of addresses
before this association, and to some degree
have been actuated by rather a selfish mo
tive in the selection of a subject, for 1 have
fallen upon one not only in accord with
my own tastes, but one which I feel as
sured will impress each individual of this
intelligent audience with its appropriate*
^83, with its practical facts, and with its
notes of timely warning.
My subject—School Hygiene in Relation
to its Influence upon the Vision of Child
ren, or School Sanitation—does not express
the full scope of this discoftrse, but is a
faint ontline of wliat I shall have to say to
you in the time allotted to me.
Education is a preparation for the work
of life, not a thing that is good in itself. If
it has helped life to be healthy, happy, suc
cessful and long, then it has been good; if
in any degree it has caused disease, unhap
piness, non-success, then it has been bad.
The medical aspects of life are deservedly
attracting more and more the attention of
doctors in every land where education and
civilization have made much progress.
The researches of one investigator devel
oped the fact that out of more than 2,300
infants examined by him only 122 posessed
abnormal peculiarities of any kind, and
from this fact drew the conclusion that
children, as a rule, are physically sound
when they start to school. ’That deformi
ties of one organ or another, simple or
serious, do exist amongst schoolchildren
admits of no argument, and many of these
may be reasonably attributed to the in
fluences surrounding a child during its life
in the school room. The various parts of
the organism of youth are easily disar
ranged, and if the cause operates continu
ously the disarrangement is liable to be
come permanent.
Before the child ever see the inside of a
school room he learns many useful things
—often more than he does in the next suc
ceeding live years—and yet this learning
does not injure his eyes. It is a fact that
children at the time of entering school are
free from that common affection, near
sightedness, Lut almost immediately there
after the disease begins to show itself. This
is conclusive evidence that the fault to a
great degece, at least. lies in the school.
Before his school days begin, and while
the child is learning, and that too very rap
idly, all the knowledge that he gains is
re$l knowledge of concrete things, gained
through the use of all his senses and all his
activities by being brought into contact
With the things about which he learns. He
is free to sit still or to move; to fix his at
tention u|>on a thing as long as it interests
him, and then to leave it for something
else. Bat at school nearly evervthing is
unnatural. Very often the child is seated
xm a hard bench, so high that his feet can
not touch the floor, with the bark, if it
have any, so straight that a comfortable
position is Impossible, and the desk, if there
be any, so far In front of him that he can
not use It without leaning forward much
further than is good for either his bt\ck or
his eyes; and th re with foul air to breathe,
with windows improperly shaded, or not
at all, with light coming from the front as
often os otherwise, and with little or noth
ing to make the place look cheerful or
homelike, he is confined for six hours a
day, five days in the week, from twenty-
eight to forty-five weeks in the ybar. and
for as many years os his constitution can
stand such abuse, or bis parents afford to
send him. In this room he seldom comes
in contact with natural things, or even 1
with representations of them, excepting
his teacher and fellow students, and they,
too, are made as unnatural as i>o*sil»lV.
Seated on his high, hard bepch, prohibited
from looking to the right or left, book in
hand, be is committing to memory the
words of the author, and this they ca’ll get
ting an education. "What's in a name."
It has been truthfully said that sight Is
the noblest avenue of the mind, and its im
pairment or loss is a greater evil than
would be that of any other bodily sense.
For many years deterioration of’the eve
among pupils in public and private schools
has been a subject of complaint and invest!-
gationbothln this country and the older
portions of the world. This impairment of
aight. this deterioration of the eye. is prin
cipally the immediate result of Myopia,
or nearsightedness, which, in its turn. Is
caused by defective modes of education
and their hurtful surroundings.
Myopia Is a disease. A near-sighted eye
is not a normal eye. Children born in the
normal atato do not have near-sighted
what *• Myopia? Anatomically,
the diflerenco between a normal eve and
one that is myopic, or near-9ighted. Is
practically a difference in the length of the
•ye-ball. The slightest fractional increase
in the length of the ball beyond its normal
length is an increase of Myopia. As the
eye becomes elongated the Retina, which
growth and of study from too close appli
cation; but, provided its degree is still
moderate, its further prom** may be ar
rested at or after maturity if the individual
grows more prudent. But—and this con
stitutes the gravest feature of the disease
—if the myopia has, during this period,
already reached a high degree, the tenden
cy to continued progress frequently cannot
be arrested, notwithstanding the exercise,
too late, of the greatest care; ami degener
ative changes go on in the ti««ues end me
dia of the eye, with the sad prospect of
partial or even total blindness at or before
middle age.
"Since it has been shown that it is espe
cially by continued tension of the muscle
of accommodation in study that myopia
with its attendant dangers is generated and
increased, and as it is well known to be
only preventable and not curable, it fol
lows that a change in our methods of edu
cation is an absolute necessity, or else this,
which might be termed self-imposed dis
ease, will impose a more and more griev
ous burden on the community.
"A child having an hereditary leaning
towards myopia is expected to give a large
portion of time every day to study of often
times badly printed books, perhaps in a
dim light, and sometimes with thereouire-
ment from his teacher that lie shall not
take his eyes from his lesson. Myopia is
thus begun. As this augment*, tfie child
who does not see things about him clearly
has less pleasure in the usual sports of his
age, and finds more enjoyment in books.
His close application to reading, writing,
drawing, etc., keeps up convergence of the
eyes ami pressure upon them of the recti
muscles, which tends little by little to in
crease the ellipsoid change of form and
elongate the anteroqfosterior axis. These
alterations go on during the period of
growth and of most continuous.'study, be
cause at this time the tissues of the globe
are softer and more extensible than after
maturity. If on reaching this latter term
the structural changes are still only mod
erate in degree, the myopia may continue
stationary during life. But if at this time
great deviations from the normal condi
tion have already been produced, the
affected parts are less capable of resisting
further yielding, and progressive myopia
is thenceforward an ever-present source of
danger.
"Prevention is the sole resource at our
command; restoration is impossible. And
in order that preventive measures may be
seasonably adopted, it is first necessary
that the profession and the public should
become alive to the fact that in a large
number of cases myopia is one of the
gravest affections of the eye, capable of
limitation by constant care during child
hood and youth; but if not thus limited
likely to be a source of future disability
and misery, and to be handed down as ah
onerous inheritance to children. At pres
ent the warnings inspired by frequent sad
experience in the practice of every skilled
observer are almost unheeded, and it is
but too common to see the chances of re
taining even moderately useful vision in
future years recklessly sacrificed to a vain
ambition for acquiring mere book knowl
edge. which when gained is often valueless
to its possessor, or if otherwise it could be
usefully applied, cannot be made service
able beenuse of the imperfection of sight
winch has been created in obhJning it.
"Very high degrees of myopia should
also be recognized ns an infirmity deserv
ing careful consideration before assuming
the obligations of marriage; for those in
moderute circumstances may well hesitate
to choose partners who. though highly
cultivated, may probably at middle life
become unable to provide for their house
holds or their children."
That, the eye grows weaker as the term
of study grows longer, is clearly proven by
actual investigation. Careful tests have
been made of the eyes of many thousand
school children in America, Germany,
Austria, Russia, Switzerland and other
countries, and invariably with similar re
sults, viz: that the proportion of normal-
sighted children generally lessens as the
age of the subjects advance, and as they
reach the higher grades of study. The
statistics thus gathered show that while In
children at common village schools there
js but one-fourth of one percent. of myopia,
it rises to 21 per cent, in city schools of
high grade, and in some high-schools and
universities it has reached GO to 70 per cent.
The examination of six hundred students
of theology at the Univerity of Tuabingen
found 70 per cent, suffering from myopia.
Other statistics have shown that in those
who studied two hours out of school, the
proportion of myopic students was 17 per
cent.; in those studying six hours, 40 per
cent. Germany furnishes more myopic, or
near-sighted subjects than any other coun-
1 incommon disease among negro
btudeuts.
Bad air and defective light play an Im
portant role in the production of myopia.
Says a distinguished author: ‘‘Air and
light are the lust uuu lust and best mes-
sagers of life—die first breath and the lost
breath—the first glance and the last glance;
how wonderful ! ,T
Bad air alone, in a school room, acting
i a primal cause, may set in train a series
of morbid processes, which may, and often
do, effect not only the working capacity
and integrity of the organ of vision, but
which may lead even to its total destruc
tion. One of the professors in the law
school at Cambridge, in commenting upon
the frequency of eye diseases in that insti
tution, says it must not be supposed that
the young men injure their eyes by exces
sive application. “Bad ventilation and
the gas-hcated air of the lecture room
cause the trouble."
But light, plenty of good light, is one of
the chief needs of the scholar. Too much
light can never be thrown into the school
room, especially when we have at our com
mand the means of regulating the excess
of glare. A room is not sufficiently lighted
when a child cannot easily read fine.print.
on a moderately clear day. at a distance of
twelve to fifteen inches. The less the light,
the nearer an object must be brought to
the eye, and the greater the strain in the
act of vision; for reduction in illumination
i9. as a rule, precisely equivalent to a re
duction in the size of the object. A
model school room would be one
which there was not only an
abundance ofjjood light and of good quali
fy. but in which the eyes both of pupils
and teachers were alike shaded from the
painful glare. In all cases the light should
come from the left and at a distance of
four to live feet from the floor. Next to
this a rear light is permissible, but light
from the right should, if possible, never be
used. Windows should never be placed in
front of *he pupil. Light from such a di
rection is positively injurious. They
should always bo placed < n the
leftside; the next best place is the rear
and after this the right side.whichjposition
should only be occupied when.no other can
be obtained. But the true light should
come from over the left shoulder. It does
not harm the eye, does not cast a shadow
on the pupil’s work and is not reflected di
rectly into the eye. A German wri* er thus
sums up the results of his investigations:
"The narrower the street in which the
school house was built, the higher the oj>-
posite buildinzs, and the lower the story
occupied by the class, the greater the num
ber of near-sighted scholars."
A recent investigator writes: ‘‘Among
the causes of visual weakness
among American youths may %e
named a stooping posture, which
cramps the chest and brings the eye too
near the book or paper; reading at twiligh t
and late at night, and studying by lamp
light in the early morning, reading in the
cars, using kerosene lamps without shade,
reading while facing a window or anj
light natural or artiticial, and still more
while facing the bright sunshine, reading
dime novels or other books printed in too
fine type, reading while lying in bed, wear
ing a veil, and neglecting to cultivate far
sightedness by carefully examining dis
tant objects. Hence myopia is more com
mon in cities than in the couti
try, more among those work
ing on near ami minute object*
than those laboring in the fields |\vit!i a
jjo of vision and more objects to
those hours out of school in idleness or
plav.”
Fewer hours of study and more rational
methods of teaching, less cramming of
mere memory and more healthy develop
ment of the intellect, will make brighter,
healthier and more intelligent students,
who will develop Into stronger, hardier,
more energetic men and women. For
such as these the practical affairs of life
offer many and varied fields of usefulness,
while for the sallow-faced, narrow-chested,
weak-eyed book worm, there is no room in
a busy world.
LITTLE BRASS RED JACKET.
try in the world, her schools showing at
least (12 per cent, while in America, so far
as examinations extend, the rate is about
27 fier cent. 8o it would stem that even in
our own land the school room is a factor
most directly influential In the gradual
and increasing development of a
race of spectacle using people.
The ratio has licen found to be smaller In
America than in Europe, because, proba
bly, of the greater activity and variety of
life and the loss degree, as.yet, of heredi
tary tendency. A curious fact made known
by these Investigations is, that colored
school children sutler so slightly from
nivopla as to be practically free from it.
These facts deserve serious attention,
es|»ecially In connection with our un
doubted power of modifying or arresting
the progress of myopia by pruper manage
ment and by self-denial during the years
of growth and of education.
Myopia, says one. is especially prevalent
among the so-called cultivated classes,
ami the more time people »|>ond In Intellec
tual pursuits the more myopia do we find.
Yet students do not use their eyes for more
hours a day. or on finer objects thau jew
elers, engravers, draughtsmen, seam
stresses, type-setters, and many other*
who engage in long continued work on
small object. These occupations do not
show any tendency to myopia, while the
professional and literary callings do. The
wider
Invite habits of observation.
Tension of the accommodation, that is.
long continued use of the eye upon object?
brought close to it. is considered by nil au
thorities one of the most (if not the most)
fertile causes of progressive near sighted
ness. The act ot reading involves very
considerable physical labor. It is said
a book of oOO pages. 40 lines to the page
and 50 letters to the line, contains 1,000,000
letters, all of which the eye has to take in,
identify, and combine each with its
neighbor. Yet many readers will go
through such a book in a day. The task
is one he would shrink from if he should
stop to measure it beforehand,
It is well known to every investigator
that imperfect type Is influential in the
production of eye diseases. “Bright white
paper, particularly if its surface is glazed
is dazzling or irritating. It is on account
of the quality, rather than the size of Eng
lish print, that it is usually so much pleas
anter to read than American. “Some
cheap publications manage to combine all
of tfie defects referred to. in such n
degree that a mere paternal governmen
than ours might well suppress them as
enemies of society. Fortunately, such
publications do not contain intellectual
treasures that it need tempt one to risk
his eyes to reach." While too tine print
is regarded as a factor in bringing about
eye disease, it must not be forgotten that
too coarse point is wearisome to the eye,
for it requires more exertion of the mus
cles governing the movements of the bull.
Especially is this the case if the breadth of
the page Is too great. It is for this reason
that the narrow form of the English
blank verse is so little fatigue-
ing to the eye. A doubh-
coiumn page which is well printed and
|>roperly divided,.is certainly preferable to
THE NEWS IN GEORGIA.
1ATHERED BY CORRESPONDENCE AND
FROM THE PRESS.
BUY the BEwli
m
A Confederate Cannon that has Made a
Noise In New York for Years.
New York Sun.
The little brass howitzer known as “Red
Jacket," which has been used by Mr.
James W. Godfrey, arms and ammunition
manufacturer, of 72 Catharine street, in
firing salutes at the city hall at every pub
lic demonstration since 1865, lias suddenly
loomed into historical prominence through ! proponed
a paragraph printed in the Hun in its ac-1 °* technology,
count of the celebration of last evacuation
dby. The paragraph is as follows:
"All the salutes were duly responded to
by a little pony howitzer aboard the Sam
Sloan, concerning which the story is told
that it was, after the war, fished up on the
fluke of an anchor in the Chattahoochee
river, where it had been thrown by the
fleeing Columbus Guards, of Columbus,
Ga.. to whom it had been presented."
This paragraph was read away down in
Whence the Expense Comes.
Waynesboro Herald. ’PI
The grand jury of Schley countv find ■
that about half the expenses of the
courts is cause by negro stealing, pistol
currying, fights and divorces, ana that
they pay none of tho tax to meet this
expense.
Good Advice From Outside.
Cuthbert Enterprise.
The Cuthbert Enterprise hopes that
the goo<l people of Bibb county will
send Mr. N. E. Harris to the Legisla
ture for another term. He can do good
work in establishing the most impor
tant enterprise for Georgia that lias
been proposed for some time—a school
|t Jodi
Georgia, and Lieutenant Chappell of the
Guards wrote to the Association of Owners
and AgenvS of Steam and Sail Vessels of
the Fort of New York asking for informa
tion concernling the gun. Commander
and secretary 1). M. Munger began an in
vestigation, and found the gun in the pos
session of Mr. Godfrey. It was readily
identified by the following inscription;
RED JACKET. |
Presented to the Columbus Guards by :
Lieut. Clements, :
July 1861. :
Better Than Sullivan's Show.
Calhonn Times.
A nde through the country shows
from one to a half dozen young colts on
nearly every farm, and we are led to
believe that stock raising is on the in
crease in this county. There is no rea
son why it should not, as just as fine
The inscription was nearly effaced, but
could be traced with a magnifying glass.
Commander Munger reported to the Co
lumbus Guards, and wrote that Mr. God
frey was willing to restore the relic to its
proper owners. Answer was duly re
turned from the captain of the Guards. It
enclosed a resolution of the common coun
cil of the city of Columbus, thanking Mr.
Godfrey for his offer to restore the gun,
and offered to defray all expenses for pur
chase and sending.
A San reporter called upon Mr. Godfrey
yesterday, and from him learned the
history of Red Jacket. “I bought
the howitzer,” he said, “from Captain
George H. Whiteside in 1865. Captain
Whiteside was then commander of the
Shamrock, and afterward commanded the
Rebecca Everingham, recently burned on
the Chattahoochee river. I purchased it
for a mere song in a general invoice of old
junk. It was coated with veTdigris, and
not until it was cleaned, some time after
ward, was the inscription decipherable.
Capt. Whiteside drew the gun and carriage
from the bottom of the Chattahoochee
river on the fluke of ilie anchor of the
Shamrock, and had no idea of its histor
ical record."
Red Jacket began firing salutes in 1861
at the inauguration of Jefferson Davis as
President of the Southern Confederacy at
Montgomery. Ala. On that occasion it
was handled by the Columbus Guards, who
were stationed on Capitol Hill, and fired
it 10) times. When the Guards were
ordered to the front and became Company
c; of tfie Second Georgia regiment, and
joined Toombs’s brigade Red Jacket was
left in the care of the citizens of Columbus
and did duty in tiring salutes for Confeder
ate victories. At the close of the war,
when Gen.’Canby penetrated through Ala
bama to Columbus, the Columbians, who
had not heard of General Lee’s surrender,
planted Red Jacket on the bank of the
Chattahoochee river and prepared to beat
back the invader. They were soon con
vinced of this error, but to save their little
howitzer they spiked it and tumbled it to
the bottom of th* stream.
Since Red Jacket has been in New York
it has belched forth salutes for the inau
guration of each President of the United
.States, beginning with Gen. Grant, “ex
cept,” said Mr. Godfrey, “the inaugura
tion of Hayes. It tired 100 guns in the
City Hall square on receipt of the news of
President Tilden’s election, and I trust
the little gun will tire auother salute for
his election this year."
The Columbus Guards will celebrate
their fiftieth anniversary on April 28. On
that day the howitzer will be restored to
them by J. W. Woodford, president of the
Board of Trade of Coiambus, in behalf of
Mr. Godfrey, who has engraved upon the
howitzer this Inscription: “Restored to
the Columbus Guards. April 28, 1884, by
James W. Godfrey, of New York."
Red Jacket leaves the city to-day on
hoard tho steamer Chattahoochee for
home.
horses can be raised here as in the blue
grass regions, and we are glad to see
our farmers engaging in this profitable
branch of the farm.
Not n Political Question.
Cuthbert Enterprise.
We notice that in two or three coun
ties in Georgia candidates will run for
the Legislature who hope, if elected,
to repeal the prohibtion law of their
county. We regret this course. The
question of prohibition is one of mor
als, and not of politics, and ough f - to
be kept out of politics. It is a local
matter, and the people of each county
ought to be allowed to settle it for
themselves.
The Champion Reapers 1 IVIower
AND CO RD BINDERS.
iversally acknowledged to be the most EFFECTIV
Machines in the market. They have been indorsed k
the most progressive and successful farmers of this sectioi
after several years’service We have in store a large
of all sizes and styles, which we will sell at low priejs
on such terms as will no doubt suit any one who contem
plates buying a machine. Correspond with us.
A. B. FARQUHAEt & C0.|
MACON, GEORGIA.
I
What Milton Needs.
Milton DeraocraL
Milton county needs a member in
the next Legislature who will advocate
^ n rand og 4«xrth g u 8 B ’ & plowJ
ing its prosperity, instead of allowing
worthless curs and half-fed hogs to de
stroy more than a sufficient amount of
property to pay the taxes of its citizens
every year.
acuer, joo 10 xne neeuv anu ior
support of tho gospel. and I have
Dished the itineracy with a horse for
which receives impressions, and ti|>on i particular reasou why members of me-
which images are formed. Is thrown lie-1 chanical arts show less myopia than those
jond the focus of the ray* of light coming i of studious and literary occupations, is not
Irora a distance. j because they use their eyes less, but that
Very rarely before the fifth or sixth year the application of the eyes occurs at a dif-
of life does myopia make its appearance,; ferent time of life and under entirely
about which time children usually, begin different conditions. Germany is confess-
their attendance upon school, hut from edly one of the most studious nations In
this time on, under certain unfavorable the world, and she certainly is the most
circumstances the eye gradually elongates, nearsighted. Many of her school houses
reaching and remaining, perhaps, at a cer- are very old structures, originally built for
tain point of elongation, a slight or high J convents, and poorly lighted; moreover
degree, or constantly increasing through ' the German text itself is obscure compared’
all the years of school life, even to the with the clear Roman letters.
twenty-fifth year, and indeed In some in- In writing and study, it is easier to sit
stances, continuing slowly to lengthen bending over an ordinarily located
through almost the whole of life. deak, In the stooping itositicn, than
Myopia is essentially a disease of child-; in an erect posture. This position pre-
hood, beginning from the sixth to the- tit- i vents by compression the free return of
teenth year, just at a time when the body ; blood from the head. The posture of the
as a whole is developing most rapidly. > head favors its detention in the eyes, white
Barely does it originate after the twentieth , the working of the brain itself demands
year. When once in existence in a child, more blood, and hence we easily have a
It is usually progressive, and therein lies congestion of the eye-ball, and especially
the danger; and this fact, coupled with j of those parts that are moat active, viz:
the fact that it is an incurable disease, j the retina and optic nerve. With this
makes it an Important subject in connec-1 congestion there occurs softening of the
tion with education, for the causes that scleraotic or outer coat and an increase of
produce the disease at this period of life the fluid contents of the eye-bail,
also operate to increase it. The eye of a ' increasing the pressure from within,
child is a plastic organ, easily changed in At the same time, the muscles on
Us shape, and Its tissues are in a condition the sid.s of the ball, produce pressure
to be readily modified by the use which is without in their effort at converging for
made of the organ. The child goes oil to | rear vision. This condition of things
the eighth or tenth year, perhaps a little ; causes a bulging of the interior wall of
longer, when it is observed that it has to the eye. oml in this way myopia, or near
hold whatever it is looking at a little nearer ; slghtedness begins an«f increase* for the
>> the eye than previously, and then, u{H>n ; same causes continue to act wim greater
examination, the fact is revealed that the j force a* the trouble progresses. In cldl-
•ye is myopic or near-sighted. If you fol- dren the tissues of the eyeball are much
low such a child up to the age of twenty- i softer thjn In the adult, and this one of the
five or thirty yearn, it will be found that j princle reasons why these causes are more
the myophs has doubled, ami perhaps i active In producing thediseasebetween the
quadrupled. i ages of six and, twenty. Undoubted-
I cannot here refrain from quoting a j ly the disease Is often hereditary,
well known author, who thus writes: but the predhi>oaltlon to it may be largely
“Predisposition to myopia is almost al- counteracted by proj>ercare. the absence
ways inherited by at least some of the of myopia among savage* is attributable to
children where one parent is myopic. In absence of herediury tendency, together
these children myopia may often de- with absence of undue tension of the eye*
tected, if eotiglit for, at a very early age, for near objects. British surgeon* tell us
and is generally evident at from eight to'out of many thoa*<aiids of the native* of
twelve years of age. Once present, it British India examined by them, not a
tends to increase, and should lie watched tingle uear-sighted one was found. Who
with car*. If not existiag at least in some of you can call to mind one near sighted
d* %tbefore sixteen years of age it is never i negro who lived in anted* Un m days ? Ed-
developed, even by excessive use ot the! uration baa out its mark upon them now,
«J >* . I however, ami wonderful to relate, they are
•Daring the period of youth, which is proud of their inttrmitr.
nim ly also the time of closest application j The examination of several hundred ne-
to study, there isa deposition to gradual 1 gro school children in New York found
.1 . - ; -ent of the inherited myopic ten-! only per cent myopic. In many negro
•t-mey; buttb:imay be kept In abeyance schools in the south, examinations dis-
' “ ar? iiGi principally for Jarre cover less than I per cent. Absence of
ml if, during this period, the hereditary predispositi
the sume amount of matter extending in
a single line across the entire page.
An eiithu»iastic and Ingenious writer as
serts that “nature ami science declare"
that the color of the paper of all books
should Iks green. “Green grass covers the
t ground and green leaves are our canopy,
und no other color is so grateful to the
eye. Let onr book* be printed on green
paper, and let our printers nse red, yellow
or white ink for the noxious black.”
When this has been done, lie *ays, “every
body will rejoice except the spec
tacle makers. The eyes of the seoliol-
ar and of the student will no
longer be wearied with the myoplan con
trast of black and white, but strengthened
and refreshed by congenial colors; and to
pore over the pages of a book would be no
more fatigueing to the eyes than gazing on
a verdant prairie decorated with variously
tinted flowers." Wc must agree with him
in this, that the reform wouiii be revolu
tionary. and that the interest of the trade
would he hostile to the change.
The tiest safeguards against harm are
afforded by the beat position* and best
light, clear tyi>e, plain inks, with the best
paper of yellowish tints and abundant
space between the lines.
“The increased demand that the exigen
cies or the fashion of the times make upon
the even as well a* upon the brain* of
the children, and the increased numbers
that are yearly brought within the influ.
enceof school life by the compulsory law*
of governments or of public opinion. -houM
l)e accompanied by a corresponding in
crease in the use of all the alleviations and
precautions that science and humanity
can suggest. School tiaining 1* necessari
ly an artificial process, and unless it is
conducted under rational and fa
vorable conditions universal educa
tion can never be an unmixed universal
blessing." Much of the Injury to laxly
and tuiiul a* well os sight, is traceahLfto
causes which goad the children on to tasks
that the brightest and strongest of them
are scarcely equally to and the “higher
edtication ,r that is now so earnestly de
manded for the gentler sex, .is t‘>o often
dearly bought at the expense of shattered
constitutions and unstrung nerves. But if
these thing* must be, in 4uc name of hu
manity and justice, let them be anmnuid-
ed by all the checks that can lessen their
power for evil.
After a diligent study ui*>n the quei
tion of construction of school bov.-os and
the construction and arrangement of desk*
and seat*, a dis inguished surgeon has
stated that 00 per cent, of curvature and
For Coughs and Throat Disorders, use
Brown’s Bronchial Troche*. “Have.never
changed my mind respecting them, except
1 think better of that which I began think
ing well of."—Rev. Henry Ward Beecher,
Sold only In boxes.
The Pioneers, of Athena.
When the Werners returned to Savan
nah, one of them was interivewed by a Nears
reporter, nudsin the course of the conver
sation said: “But talking about running
and ladder-climbing, the Athens boys do
certainly take the whole cake. They came
tearing down the course like lightning,
and the ladder man was on the top of the
ladder before they fairly got it off the
truck, and when the ladder was taken
down he fell will) it. If we had been in
good trim I doubt if Wt could have held
them n candle. I never saw such work in
my life."
Never in Macon, since the days when
Archie McQueen, peace to his ashes, ran
with the boys and performed wonderful
feats on the ladder, has such neat work
been executed by book and ladder com
panies, as that of the Pioneers. Besides
Prepared for 8torma.
Elberton New South.
Mr. McAlnin Arnold has a #100 cy
clone pit. It is dug out under his
dwelling—about eight feet deep, walled
up with large, split granite rock, laid
in cement and covered over with huge
blocks of timber twelve or fourteen
inches square. It is well drained and
ha.* two avenues of escape in case of
necessity. Ho also has an entrance
to it through a trap door in one of the
rooms ol his residence. ,
Words From a Wise Farmer.
McDuffie Journal.
When the war closed I owned 330
acres ol land, and was #250 in debt.
Now I own 1,160 acres and owe no man
anything hut good will. As to the rais
ing of cotton, corn, grain, otc., I never
make anything above my expenses; my
f nofits arise from stock-raising. In the
ast twelve months my profits on 100
head of sheep were #180, and on cattle
and hogs #320, making a total of #500.
Besides, I gave away Two horses, both
of ray own raising, also gave #120 to a
preacher, #35 to tho needy and #25 for
the
fnr&isH&d
four years.
I make it a rule to raise the meat for
tho white members of my household,
and my wife has never used a pound of
bought lard in her life, but on the con
trary has sold a great deal of our own
ruining.
My success in stock-raising, I claim,
is duo to a large extent, to our fence
law. Therefore, I say “let well enough
alone.” I think if our ]>eople would
turn otti more of their worn-out lands
and raise more stock our country would
he in a better condition.
Wise Methods In.Farming.
News and Advertiser.
The Xncs and Advertiser lias had oc
casion to speak often ot the condition
of the farmers in Dougherty county.
We have condemned the miserable
“cropping system" which has brought,
and is still bringing, wreck and ruin to
some of the finest farming lands in the
State. At the same time we have
commended the sagacity of those thrift v
men who keep their smoke-houses wefl
supplied, and their corn cribs in their
own barnyard. There is another fact
connected with farming in Dougherty
which is claiming the attention of some
of our best farmers, and that is, our
plantations ore too large. There must 1
be a division of land, und this can only ;
be done by an increase of population, j
A smaller area well cultivated will pro
duce ns much as the largo fields of to*,
clay. A diversified system of crops is :
already popular in the county, and in (
producing each year evidences of it* !
wisdom and worth. The question e** I
sential to prosperity is, how can we 1
secure immigrants for this section .’'
It makes a tool at once lighter, while much
stronger, more effective at work,
while less liable to clog, and far supe
rior to anything we have ever of
fered yet at a price at which
none can afford to be without
them. A
Greatcnt Cotton Plow Aaownl
Planters can reduce their labor account onc-half by using the above. Plants corn
bed* cotton land, burs oil’and cultivates cotton, one row at a single trip. Twohun
tired and eight-tlirco sold in Bibb and Crawford this season.
E. 1V1. SARGENT & CO., Seedsmen]
Second and Poplar streets, Macon, Georgia
JOHNSON & LANE]
i 07 and 109 Third St„ Macon, Gj
. - fSMMMsym
D ESIRE tocall the attention of the Planter to the Tlu
■ as a great labor saving machine in the cultivation
just received alargu lot of Builders’ Hardware, in whicl
MAKE MONEY-—HOW
Ily coming to hemiiiuarter* and »e!n|
stock of
Endues, Bowies ami Waeoni
into the
1 in the Uo
t terms. (
•7liey have <mt > tl!e l liook i «nd > *la3d"r ! h l u« n i' IJohn J* Fort ha. furni.ho.1 the j
ness down fine," to use an expression of ycnt method we na\e heard of, and that j
_ expression _
Macon firemen, and the company that can
excell them will have to work hard.
Ttie Pioneer’s laurels were worthily
won, ami are worthily worn.
A Great Blood Medicine.
Rosadnlie cure* scrofula, swelling*,
goitre, r ; Uin diseases, liver complaint,
rheumatism, etc. Head the foil, wing: 1
have been a great sufferer for 15 years:
not able to walk, from an injured leg. I
have frequently tried many M. I).’s and
their remedies, to little pur|*ose, 1 believe
Rokadali* will cun* me. Send me one
dozen by steamer. It was recommended
to tne by a friend. I have taken two bot
tle* and find it helping me. The drug-
gist* who usually*keep it are all out of it,
and I cannot at lord to wait the slow ar<
rival of their supplies. John T. Berks.
Snpu Board of Public Instruction.
Lake Irena, Florida,
I time to work it out.
IBUGGIKS AND WAGONS.
Don’t buy those peddled out in a retail
over the country. Come and examine
stock. Save money by coming. II you
Three
^nllTflv,Hi (1 .n l< i^!,rS U i l ^,Zm ' t5S«JOriFMiU.’fh.'tot. Dtrl* Tarl.ine Water W1
pcni'inal etfort. to secure ncrmanent n ,ite, of (Jim. Buckeye Reapers and Mow^r-. Sumlardaml OM iw.u>,
wUlets on hi. hmu.. Mr. fcort has one year', guarantee. Wo have the b.)t and largest itockot any houa. m
auccocdeil in locating a colony of thrifty c..h or time. Wholeeale and retail.
Ma.sachu.ett. farmer, on hi. |>Ianta-
tion in Hou.ton county, and i. in cor
respondence with other parties in refer
ence to locating in this county. If a
dozen of onr intelligent farmer, would
take hold of this matter and make per
sonal etfort to secure the right kind of
immigrant.—as they can Ik- had if the
proper inducement, are held out—then
our prosperity would be certain.
LUMPKIN.
AUEBICC. AND LI MI-KIN RAILROAD—MR.
RAOUL’. PROPOSITION.
April 10.—An important railroad
meeting was held here to-day at which
incorporator, of the proposed road from
HI. J. HATCHER & CO.
SCHOFIELD’S IRON WORKS]
OPPOSITE THE^PASSENCER DEPOT, MACON, CEORCIA.
■PreryeoiuMermble, 1
ury daring the rert
ttierce of myopia
iring them year, of
I with increased educational facilities, and
with the hereditary tendency steadily In
creasing, near sign ted ness w ill become not
oilier disease* of the spine are develop*d
during and largely attributable to school
life. It should not lie forgotten th t “there
i* an architecture for school* as well a* an
architecture for palace*. One Is not Uv*t
worthy of study than th * other, and we
are at fault in taste as well a* in hygiene
if we forget that here real beauty
consists above all things, in the perhet
adaptation of a building to its uses. ' An
abundance of property regulated light,
good ventilation and plenty of room, are
the essentials of a perfect school house.
A certain school committee after thor
ough investigation, reports that it i* “of
the opinion that the practice of retpiiring
pupils to commit their lessons from books,
is not only the cause of much ot this near
sightedness, but that is a most pernicious
practice t om every point of view, ami
more especially so when nracb of the
so-called studying must be done at
home evenings. Children under fourteen
or fifteen years of age. should never he re
quired to get regular lessons out of school
—The Duke of Baccleucii, who has { A meric us to Lumpkin were elected,
just died in Scotland, was known wherever American was represented by Metwni.
he went uncovered by a peculiar mark-a g. if. lhuvkin. »n<l U. B.'llarrokl;
large wen upon the top of hi. head. Webuler bv W. P. Joncr» ; J. IV. May
With lh.rk.e, ’.Irev-i,.* there I. ! JjJ
no waste or itiiappotntuient. You are ; *■ harttr aill he made at th® or "
certain to produce a good salad. It coat. | ganization perfected and book, of «ub-
lesa than homemade, and 1», beside., a .a-1 scriptiou opened,
perb table sauce. A new feature has developed in this
-■ I railroad project in which Mr. Itaoul,
—Ednmmls, .ays a correspondent, of the Central railroad, take, n hand,
always speak, of Blaine “a* a man without i He propose, to eituip and run the road
the.JWdMt idea of law. and when he has if the people of Sumter, Webster and
•aid that Edmund, has laid hu wont of a st.araM «?;il ..,.1
pubLc man.
Luck. Letter, pl.y.r, of ttM OoliMn Cat*.
1. Kratmer la not a happy man. He
bought ticket 1,242 of the March Iltli
drawing of Tli. houiiiana State Lottery,
but placed »> little dejieiidcnce upon lit.
luck that he forthwith aokl ball of it to
John Martell, a.ilvenmitb of 03 Sacra
mento atnet, and C. F. Bobbin., a ma
chinist living .1312 Leavenworth street.
The ticket drew the third prize. $10,000,
and Kraimcr is not in the bat of humor.
This it the rnartb time within a few
month, tnat Han Franciscan* hare been
the winner, of valuable prizes.—.Saw Ftan.
Tlu. i* not to uy they mut spend | cue* (Cbf.) Cknitklc. March 10.
Stewart will grade and bridge it. - ..
The probability is that the proposed J™* Kp *’ Ftw “
extension from Smithviile to Preston j ’
will give way to the project. The peo-
pie ail along the line ore vigorously at j
work anti tfie construction of the road |
is an assured fact. With this road from I
America* to Lumpkin the valuable
trade of this section will be accessible . _o o j o.
to Macon by direct communication l>y *7® oecoflu otreet,
two routes, viz., over the Ce’itrml by! ..
America., or over your proposed air- Marble, Granite and Limeston
line from Vienne, which will tie the
T. B. ARTOPE,
caztc—. tenuiuu. of the new road.
Will it not tie to the internal of Macon
to encourage this new enterprise T
Macon, Georgia
Works, Wrought Iron |
Railings of every description. Best Force Pump in the
ket. Plans, prices and estimates given
0*1? ..r.Doivlr